My daily rants, hm, well, maybe not so much rants, more views or just playing devil's advocate. Oh yes, and some other stuff...that's all!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Big Banks Behaving Badly...

A few days ago, I came across an article about a young man, Ikenna Njoku of Auburn, Washington who was arrested and thrown in jail for trying to cash a Chase check.

He had formerly held a Chase account so when his rebate check was directly deposited into his closed Chase account, Chase deducted their overdraft fees, a whopping $600, then cut him a check containing the balance and mailed it to him.

When he received it, Ikenna Njoku took the Chase check to a Chase bank to cash it but when he got there, the teller scrutinized the check and questioned its validity. Ikenna Njoku explained that the money was proceeds from a first-time homebuyer rebate program on his tax returns. The teller took so long processing the check, Ikenna left, he stated that by the time he got back the bank was shut but when he contacted customer service he was asked to go back the next morning.

Poor Ikenna Njoku, returned to the bank the next morning only to be handcuffed and carted away to jail under suspicion of trying to cash a fraudulent check. When Chase realized they had made a mistake, all they did was call and leave a message for the detective handling the case.

Ikenna Njoku spent four days in jail, his vehicle impounded and ultimately auctioned off which led to him losing his job.

As I read the article, two things incensed me the most: 1) the attitude of the teller 2) the nonchalant and callous way that Chase handled their error by letting this poor boy stay in jail.

The teller had no right to treat Ikenna Njoku that way! There are so many ways she could have handled the transaction without embarrassing and harassing him.

As for Chase, when they realized it was their mistake, Ikenna Njoku should not have spent an extra minute in jail. This useless bank has not compensated him for the humiliation, loss of property and loss of job.